Upgrade Confessional

[EvilGrin]

Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been over 2 years since my last upgrade.

Ok now the theatrics are over, lets get down to business! I'm currently running an AGP 6800GT in a socket 754 AMD 64 3000+ system. Its been a wonderfully stable little system, and the 6800GT is still chugging along as it does, but it really is starting to show its age now.

I'm looking to buy a system that'll at least last as long as my current one has, if not longer. I've been a bit of an AMD fan in the past but now i'm definately going to be buying a Core 2 Duo system, i'll invest in a solid motherboard and good ram, but go for a low end processor, probably the E6300 and more than likely get some overclocking going.

My main concern is the graphics card, as I want a futureproof system, i'm naturally looking at a directx10 card, the 8800GTX seems a little extravagant for my needs as i'm running a 19" at 1280x1024 and doubt that'll change in the forseeable future. The GTS looks like a good and affordable card, its currently selling at roughly what I paid for my 6800GT back in the day. However, my budget isn't as big right now as it was when I last upgraded 2 years ago, so every penny is important!

I'm not in a huge rush to upgrade, but I would like to within the next few months, so I think I could wait a little for more directx10 cards to come onto the market, the rumored 320MB 8800 GTS definately caught my eye!

Anyway, the reason for posting is that i'm just trying to weigh up my options right now and get some of your valued opinions on the matter! I'd really like to know if there are going to be many changes in the market within the next few months for graphics cards and for other components (as obviously i'll have to decide on motherboard etc. too!), to see if there really is any point in waiting or whether i should just go ahead and make the plunge!

Here i'd mostly like opinions on current and future graphics options and any general advice you all can give! Any comments will be much appreciated guys, cheers!

 

[melbourne720]

8800 GTS, 2GB of 6400 DDR2 and a 6300. That will last you ages... Stick all that on a DS3 or 680i and you'll be happy.

 

[EvilGrin]

8800 GTS, 2GB of 6400 DDR2 and a 6300. That will last you ages... Stick all that on a DS3 or 680i and you'll be happy.

Cheers for the quick reply!

Forgot to mention that my budget will be around £750 excluding VAT and with that I can either re-use my old case and 460W akasa power supply, or go the whole hog and replace it all.

Think its worth my while biding my time for the 320 Mb 8800 GTS (if it ever happens) or maybe even an 8600 Ultra or somesuch and save myself maybe £100 to spend on other gadgetry?

By the way, this is probably in the wrong forum for this information but i'll ask anyway, for the sort of spec of system i'm talking about, whats currently the best mobo chipset (or even particular motherboard)? I doubt I will ever use SLi, but I wouldn't be mind having an SLi motherboard if the particular motherboard grants me performance gains over others!

Cheers!

 

[Alf4]

I've just upgrade from an aging 2800XP with a 6800GT and 1.5GB Dual Channel mem.

I was in your position when considering a graphics card purchase and finally decided on a 8800GTS. I use a 1600x1050 resolution and its awesome.

However if budget is a concern you should consider a 1950Pro or even a 1950XT-X. (although for a 512MB version it £200+VAT so I figured what the hell and went for the 8800GTS). These cards seem to perform very well with great image quality.

The term "furture proofing" does indicate that a directx10 card is your way to go however im sure we will see 8600 and even 8300 (YuK) GPU's soon which would be at areduced price and spec.

Also worth mentioning is ATI is due to release a new GPU shortly which maybe another consideration.

My advice, hang on for the time being and keep your eyes on the forums. Wait to see what ATI does and balance this with the 8800 GPU. Also Intel are releasing updated Core 2 Duo chips which could open up even more possiblities.

Alf

 

[melbourne720]

Cheers for the quick reply!

You're welcome

Forgot to mention that my budget will be around £750 excluding VAT and with that I can either re-use my old case and 460W akasa power supply, or go the whole hog and replace it all.

I'd re-use your case, if it looks okay. I'd think about maybe getting a new PSU if you're going the 8800 route. When I upgraded (recently) I was going from a shuttle and having to buy a new case ate into my budget.

Think its worth my while biding my time for the 320 Mb 8800 GTS (if it ever happens) or maybe even an 8600 Ultra or somesuch and save myself maybe £100 to spend on other gadgetry?

Could be, they are supposed to be out around the end of the month. Even then, you'll be lucky to get much change from £200 for a 8800GTS 320MB. If you want to get your system now, then get it now. It might be more than a month before cheaper 8800s come out, and even then they'll be less good, and you've just economised on one of the most important part of the PC build, certainly up there with mobo and CPU.

By the way, this is probably in the wrong forum for this information but i'll ask anyway, for the sort of spec of system i'm talking about, whats currently the best mobo chipset (or even particular motherboard)? I doubt I will ever use SLi, but I wouldn't be mind having an SLi motherboard if the particular motherboard grants me performance gains over others!

Cheers!

I'd say a 680i, but then I would, wouldn't I? I got the BFG one, but the evga one has a good warranty, and the MSI one is slightly cheaper, so I'd recommend taking your pick of those.

The DS3/4 sells well, and has been getting good overclocks. P5B deluxe also has reports of good FSB overclocks. I'd say for the P965 chipset, its down to those two/three.

 

[EvilGrin]

Thanks a lot for that again. Certainly giving me a lot to think about. Luckily I won't be paying VAT for these (Owning a company rocks) so I think £250 for an 8800 GTS sounds pretty darn good. I like BFG and they offer a good warranty so a BFG 680i Mobo and 8800 GTS looks pretty tempting to me.

Yeah there's nothing wrong with my case tbh, its a Thermaltake tsunami dream, it needs cleaned out and a new window fan, but other than that its still perfect.

Interestingly enough having read a bit about gaming performance, it looks like AMD cpus still might have an edge over c2d? I thought that line of thinking was pretty much blown out of the water. More research is needed there methinks!

 

[melbourne720]

Thanks a lot for that again. Certainly giving me a lot to think about. Luckily I won't be paying VAT for these (Owning a company rocks) so I think £250 for an 8800 GTS sounds pretty darn good. I like BFG and they offer a good warranty so a BFG 680i Mobo and 8800 GTS looks pretty tempting to me.

Did to me. Damn, I've got to start a company You a contractor?

Yeah there's nothing wrong with my case tbh, its a Thermaltake tsunami dream, it needs cleaned out and a new window fan, but other than that its still perfect.

That'll be fine.

Interestingly enough having read a bit about gaming performance, it looks like AMD cpus still might have an edge over c2d? I thought that line of thinking was pretty much blown out of the water. More research is needed there methinks!

An e6300 costing a bit over £100 can run as fast as an FX-62 costing an absolute fortune. You can get an AMD if you want, but don't come back complaining you need help because your machine is benching so much slower than everyone else's!

 

[EvilGrin]

Yeah I work as an engineering contractor. Anyway, i'm pretty sure i'd go for a C2D system over an AMD one anyway, I set up an E6600 system at work that sits and crunches through finite element analysis problems and it beats the crap out of the opteron workstations we have running in all counts.

Now that i've truely settled on a C2D system another spanner has been thrown in the works that is the rumor that the R600 is being released within the next month. I think it might be prudent to see it through until some benchmarks are out there. I'm only truthfully wanting to spend around £250 (exc VAT) on a card, so I guess it depends on the pricepoints for R600 cards!

 

[melbourne720]

Now that i've truely settled on a C2D system another spanner has been thrown in the works that is the rumor that the R600 is being released within the next month. I think it might be prudent to see it through until some benchmarks are out there. I'm only truthfully wanting to spend around £250 (exc VAT) on a card, so I guess it depends on the pricepoints for R600 cards!

March/April, but not before some new 8 series mid range cards are coming out. I'd get an 8800 GTS in your situation, the R600 will only be competing with the GTX, when it comes out.

Alternatively, you could always get a 7600 GT and wait to see what ATi release.

 

[HangTime]

8800 GTS, 2GB of 6400 DDR2 and a 6300. That will last you ages... Stick all that on a DS3 or 680i and you'll be happy.

I'd go along with this. There's always something faster around the corner and I doubt R600 would be within your budget anyway.

As far as the PSU goes, a branded 460W isn't tooo bad so personally I'd try it and see. Worst case, you end up with an unstable system and simply buy a new PSU later than the rest of the kit.

 

[EvilGrin]

Cheers for that guys, yeah I think I will go for an 8800 GTS, it just kinda makes sense i guess! The 680i mobo looks well suited to the task, although I do like gadgets on my board, it seems that the 680i's just look like powerhouses with not too many frills. I see that MSI are meant to be releasing a 'Diamond' version of their 680i board, I bet that'll cost the earth though and tbh, paying £150 is plenty for me!

Hopefully the PSU'll be up to the task. Think I might want to get some good ram and overclock the e6300 too, so might want to upgrade the PSU if I try that I suppose. Have a Hiper type R in the comp at work, think I may well have to get one for meself too! Sexy things.

 

[melbourne720]

Cheers for that guys, yeah I think I will go for an 8800 GTS, it just kinda makes sense i guess! The 680i mobo looks well suited to the task, although I do like gadgets on my board, it seems that the 680i's just look like powerhouses with not too many frills. I see that MSI are meant to be releasing a 'Diamond' version of their 680i board, I bet that'll cost the earth though and tbh, paying £150 is plenty for me!

Hopefully the PSU'll be up to the task. Think I might want to get some good ram and overclock the e6300 too, so might want to upgrade the PSU if I try that I suppose. Have a Hiper type R in the comp at work, think I may well have to get one for meself too! Sexy things.

If you want frills, then the BFG one has a rather nice extra large (they know their market) t-shirt.

 

[EvilGrin]

If you want frills, then the BFG one has a rather nice extra large (they know their market) t-shirt.

nice one, will go nicely in my collection of geeky t-shirts along with my i8 LAN LPB team t-shirt!